Casa Gorordo kicks off year-long 40th anniversary series

CEBU CITY -- Casa Gorordo Museum kicked off on December 6 a year-long series of events ahead of its 40th Anniversary in December 2023.  Casa Gorordo is Cebu’s first museum opened for public awareness and education on Cebuano hetitage and culture. 

 The museum’s role in cultural advocacy was highlighted in presentations at the brief opening event Tuesday where its 40th Anniversary brand image and theme was unveiled.

National Artist for Literature Dr. Resil Mojares, Amaya Aboitiz Fansler, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI), Former RAFI-Culture and History Program Officer Ruel Rigor and Casa Gorordo Curator Florencio Moreno II shared their individual recollections of specific periods in the history of the iconic house-museum.

Recently repainted to engender a more authentic experience of life in the colonial Cebu of the late 1800s and early 1900s, Casa Gorordo reopened in October after a two-year hiatus. The museum has been thoughtfully re-organized and restored as more and more information on the colonial lifestyle is unearthed. New technologies have also been adopted to promote a more immersive visitor experience.

 A National Historical Landmark, Casa Gorordo Museum, is one of the Philippines’ cultural and historical treasures. It was built in the mid-1800s and acquired by the Spanish merchant Juan Isidro de Gorordo in 1863.

Four generations of the family lived in the house, including Cebu’s first Filipino bishop, Juan Gorordo, until it was acquired by the RAFI in 1980. It opened as a museum in 1983. (Photos: Casa Gorordo FB/Jinjing Marino)